Sennheiser HD560S Review (Headphone)

[max233]

Weak bass and "too much treble". Maybe there's a Sennheiser made for me after all?

 

[Madlop26]

Different opinions here, Some prefer the HE400SE, others 560s other the k371, i have the k371 but now i am tempted to buy the other 2 to see which one is the under $200 king for my ears, lol, Probably somebody should do a poll.

 

[amirm]

Is my understanding flawed? Can something be done to make sure the levels are matched? Is it already done?

Your understanding is correct and for that reason, the research uses consistent levels across experiments. The problem is that we don't listen at the same volume, nor our content is normalized to the same. So no good solution exists for the problem.

 

[MachOne]

This sounds like a headphone I might like.
An old favorite of mine was the HD-598 (non SE), but it lacked low bass and even more so than the HD-650.
Has anyone compared this to the HD-598?
I imagine it's a side-grade most likely.

It's a noticeable upgrade for me. The HD-598 was always too "wooly" and laid back for me, though I didn't hate them. The 560s is much more open and clean sounding, but I need a filter to make the top end bump tolerable.

 

[Robbo99999]

Nice to see Amir measure these headphones. These are a favourite of mine. They do look a bit different in measurements than what we have seen from Oratory for instance (mainly above 4kHz), but of course there's unit to unit variation to explain some of that as well as somewhat different measurement protocols:

Distortion measurements were also lower on my HD560s that Oratory measured, and I found my HD560s to have the cleanest most defined bass after EQ, at least as good as my planar HE4XX in that regard:

Could this be down to unit to unit variation.

I'm a bit disenamoured with my HD560s as it came back from Oratory slightly damaged on the earpad and it doesn't seem quite the same to me now. I think I still have to rate it as one of my favourite headphones though, kind of wish I hadn't sent it in, didn't have this problem with other headphones I'd sent him so bad luck or somethings happened (packaging wasn't damaged in any way though).

HD560s is a nice headphone though & good value, it's got a good soundstage and does everything well, especially after EQ.

 

[usern]

PC38X:

Spoiler

HD560S:

Spoiler

HD650:

Spoiler

Big step up from PC38X. HD560S has even less distortion than HD650 in 60 Hz - 150 Hz region. I have HD660S and I can somewhat hear that 560S has less bass distortion with electronic music. I think HD560S is good for EDM since producers often high pass super low frequencies anyway while doing complicated bassy sound design.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

This sounds like a headphone I might like.
An old favorite of mine was the HD-598 (non SE), but it lacked low bass and even more so than the HD-650.
Has anyone compared this to the HD-598?
I imagine it's a side-grade most likely.

I do have the newest HD-650, but i've always found it very slightly muffled sounding and closed in (more so than the HD-598).
Current favorites are the bass modded AKG Q701 and DT-990 Pro.

Some weird mix of the HD-650 and Q701 is like my perfect headphone.

My teenage son has grown up with the 598 and worn out two pairs. Most comfortable headphone I have ever experienced.

 

[Sombreuil]

My teenage son has grown up with the 598 and worn out two pairs. Most comfortable headphone I have ever experienced.

I have to agree. Sometimes I know I should use the 58X because of the song/album, but I keep using the 598 just because of the comfort.

 

[_thelaughingman]

I think these headphone' are going to be a good recommendation for affordable <$200 open back headphones that can last a long time, like many other of more pedigreed siblings.

 

[Merkurio]

These and the HE400SE with little EQ are solid choices in the great scheme of headphones, let alone in the sub-200 range.

Good times to be an "audiophile" (not audiofool).

 

[Andrej]

Your understanding is correct and for that reason, the research uses consistent levels across experiments. The problem is that we don't listen at the same volume, nor our content is normalized to the same. So no good solution exists for the problem.

Thanks! How closely are the research experiments and your testing matched (in terms of volume)? What level is that (I can see that it is at approximately 100dBSPL from the plot, which seems quite high, but maybe I am not interpreting it correctly in terms of perception of volume relative to listening to loudspeakers at the same 100dB level)? Is there any statistical analysis of personal preferences across subjects in perceptual experiments? It would make sense to me if they were conducted in generally popular conditions. I very much appreciate your sharing of the information!

 

[solderdude]

Tests are performed at 94dB SPL referenced at 400Hz.
Most other testers use 90dB SPL referenced at 500Hz or 1kHz.
This is comparable.

Distortion tests are done at 94, 104 and 114dB SPL (ref at 400Hz) and are to explore performance limits. No one will ever listen to 114dB peaks at 3kHz but when turning up bass and have that boosted it is possible to reach 114dB at 30Hz for instance.

Listening tests (by Amir) are usually done at around 80dB average and sometimes he likes the turn up de volume shortly and listen to how it fares at higher levels. Testing is done at other levels so explore performance limits.

All headphones always perform better at lower levels so when you never listen loud the 94dB level measurements are very relevant.
It is rather pointless to measure distortion at 70dB SPL or lower because you would not be looking at the headphone's performance but at the lower limits of the test setup.

So far the worst performing headphones that I ever tested started to audibly compress (distort) above 70dB already. Both Sony. Most start above 90dB so testing at 94dB is very relevant, at least for low bass where problems start to occur.

70, 80, 90 and 97dB SPL (at 1kHz)

 

[OfficialChill]

I've also read many hyped review, but the real listening is a different story. Many customer dont have too much experience so they praise basically everything that not terrible and they are also biased toward their stuff. Big audio sites and youtubers are usually sponsored by audio companies, even a forum like Headfi is full with paid "user reviews".

Btw i forgot to mention, that the HE400se cable are just one of the worst garbage ever produced, it is so microphonic, that literally ruins every music, even if u just slightly moving your head. Thats another thing that noone mentions. Some guy mentioning that the cable is mediocre, but that is really far from the horroristic reality.

I don’t know where you’ve been reading where the cable wasn’t mentioned. I frequently saw people criticising the cable. For your information hifiman provide a much better cable now

Also regarding listening experience, I’ve had 560S for 3/4 of a year

 

[OfficialChill]

Every set of Hifiman headphones I purchased had manufacturing flaws and had to be returned. Conversely, I’ve never had to return a Sennheiser at any price point. That alone would cause me to always recommend Sennheiser over Hifiman.

Seems a little close minded, companies can change and improve. Sennheiser produce a lot of junk also

 

[abdo123]

Can we discuss the giant elephant in the room which is the 50Hz roll-off with almost every headphone measured on the HATS?

Has there been any meaningful discussions about this? It's really not exclusive to Amir's measurements at all.

 

[Zensō]

Seems a little close minded, companies can change and improve. Sennheiser produce a lot of junk also

Well, in my experience Hifiman has not “changed and improved”. All of these defective headphones (4 sets) were purchased within the last 12 months. If you do a little research I think you’ll find poor QC is a long-standing and fairly widespread issue with Hifiman.

 

[Count Arthur]

Can we discuss the giant elephant in the room which is the 50Hz roll-off with almost every headphone measured on the HATS?

Has there been any meaningful discussions about this? It's really not exclusive to Amir's measurements at all.

Look at some of the closed back headphones: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?pages/HeadphoneReview/

For example:

 

[OfficialChill]

Well, in my experience Hifiman has not “changed and improved”. All of these defective headphones (4 sets) were purchased within the last 12 months. If you do a little research I think you’ll find poor QC is a long-standing and fairly widespread issue with Hifiman.

A sample size of 4… very scientific

 

[Zensō]

A sample size of 4… very scientific

Like I said, do a little research.

 

[solderdude]

Can we discuss the giant elephant in the room which is the 50Hz roll-off with almost every headphone measured on the HATS?

Has there been any meaningful discussions about this? It's really not exclusive to Amir's measurements at all.

you can discuss this here.

Part of it is caused by the Harman target. Part of it because of construction of open headphones.
HD560S is -3dB at 30Hz (my measurement)